>> this is al jazeera america. live from new york city. i'm tony harris with a look at today's top stories. a massive tribute to nelson mandela in south africa as the world says goodbye. >> general motors names the first woman to name their ne tol motors. let's go to what we know from libby casey, who is live on the hill for us now.

libby, what are you learning about this proposed deal agreement that you can tell us now at this point? >> reporter: we're watching for the two key players to come out and address the media, and patty murray democrat of washington state and paul ryan congressman of wisconsin, they're the two chairs of the budget committees. they've been the ones hammering out this deal. they've been going through meetings with their respective caucuses and debriefing people and we'll get the contours of what they're proposing. two-year budget deal. funding the federal government for two years. it would set new spending limits which would give the appropriators to go back, get to work and come up with new benefits with could, indeed, avoid another government shutdown. they're looking at curbing some of the sequestration cuts, another round coming due in january, and they're looking at

airline fees, don't call them taxes. no one likes that word around here. but they'll be looking at user fee replacements. this is a small bargain, it is not a dig beal but it is something at the time when members of congress has not been able to come up with much. it is seen as a bit of a breakthrough. they're naming this bill the bipartisan budget act. that says a lot of what they would like this to translate into in terms of how to sell it to respective caucuses. the house is supposed to gavel out on friday. they only have a few more days to work and they were deadline was to get the bill released today, filed, and move forward with both the house and senate voting on it. >> we're going to hear a lot about this being done at the last minute, and this bill is going to be crammed down our throats. we're not going to have an opportunity to read through it line-for-line. i wonder where the stumbling

blocks are likely to come over the next few days. >> reporter: we did hear concerns along those lines. congress we interviewed those who serve on appropriation committees and are used to having the power of the purse. they're used to figuring out what the budget numbers are. they do have a couple of days to look towards the end of the week vote. we'll see what the reaction is as we get the hard details. a lot of people that we talked to said they need to see what the details are first. getting a sense of if they had the votes, and they've talked about pulling back on the pensions, the benefits, something that some people are not happy about. and people in washington, d.c. are not happy about that, either. there were sticking points. >> libby, you mentioned the word "fees," and fees will sound like taxes for a lot of people.

and when we think about taxes in this current climate we have to ask about tea party republicans. >> reporter: yes, that's right. the big tax reform as well as entitlement reform was really off the table. it was a non-starter. they didn't even try to put those in the grand bargain or immediatemedium-sized bargains. we saw ways they'll be watching for some of these roughs in bring in money. broadband sector sales and things like that. >> let's get more on the budget deal now and we're talking about big budget, we'll go to the white house mike viqueira for us. i'm wondering because i'm channeling your note from earlier today when i say that. what does this mean now for the

white house moving forward? >> reporter: what is doable, and the answer is not much in washington. with a deal like that as libby reported it does not include any of the ambitions talked about over the years, significant tax reform, spending cuts, depending on which side you're on, it's playing small, keeping the government open, and it's really remarkable reflexion on where we are. having said that the good news citizen far as the white house is concerned if this deal goes through, and tony, let's just caution everybody right now. libby was reported the votes aren't counted yet. we'll see how conservatives react to this. there is no extension of unprominent benefits. this is something very dear to democrats. 1.3 million people stand to lose their long-term unemployment benefits, but it is a two-year deal. you and that is good news to a lot of people in business and the economy in a larger sense

because it brings something that has been missing for quite some time coming from washington, and that is stability and the ability to plan out if you're a business, whether large or small, your next couple of years, and this budget framework, what i was trying to say earlier, this does not guarantee there isn't going to be a government shutdown, but it goes a long way towards insuring that there will not be. now they have the framework. now they have to put flesh on the bones of that framework in terms of specific line item spending. so good news and bad news here in washington this evening. >> here's the chance--better than average. better than good. that this deal moves forward. after all, patty murray and paul ryan were put forward too negotiate this deal by both chambers of congress. so the idea that they would come together work together some kind of negotiation and then not move forward just doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

>> reporter: remarkable. when you think about all the plan bs and everything being put forth by republican leadership, and how they've faced revolt after revolt he not over just the last few months but years, among the tea party conservatives as you were discussing with libby, nothing is giving here. and that's the only caveat that we have to put toward. >> we're standing here in the front of these negotiations. we should be getting that news conference soon. whenever it happens we'll bring it to you. it's important news, and we should bring it to you. 20 years after the day that nelson mandela received the nobel peace prize for leading south africa away from apartheid, tens of thousands gathered to celebrate his life. in johannesburg soccer stadium, buthe rain did not dampen the mood. president obama was among those

paying tribute to a man who became a global icon. >> nelson mandela reminds us that it is possible and there are ways to get it done. south africa shows that it is true. south africa shows us that we can change. that we can have a world that is defined not by our differences but our common hopes. >> many came to honor nelson mandela, we talked with people who gathered to remember the father of mod dinne modern sout. >> reporter: 6:00 a.m. in a stadium known as soccer city was quiet and then suddenly it isn't. [ singing ] >> reporter: the gates open and the energy floods in. pouring rain drives the early arrivals into the covered upper deck. where they have no problems staying warm, and no doubts

about why they are here. >> we are here to to celebrate. >> coming 800 miles from cape town to dance in the aisles and be part of the massive group farewell. >> there is no man like mandela. so yes, this is my final good buy. >> reporter: in the stadium hallways roving fans and singers sweep people up with them. and gather outside in circles of noise and joy. >> we've been asking people all week long whether this was a time of sadness or celebration? on this day, in this stadium the answer is clear. >> reporter: the rain never let's up, and of course it doesn't matter. >> just to be out in the rain, come on. he has done so much more for us. this don't dampen our spirits. >> reporter: in the top row seats farthest from the stage the view is just fine.

the biggest roars in a long afternoon of speech making goes to president obama. [ cheering ] >> we look forward. >> reporter: the biggest boos go to current south africa president jacob zuma. through it all one man commands attention. >> he went out of his way to do that. while we're not deserving of it. >> reporter: a day and a message for the next generation to remember. al jazeera, johannesburg. >> nick zifron joins us.

which the townships did you visit today, and what did people there have to say to you? >> reporter: yeah, tony, i think it's very important to point out to all our viewers that the tens of thousands of people who were in the stadium were the lucky ones. millions of people had to watch on tv. i was in a township today, and there are many people here in south africa who believe that nelson mandela's legacy has not been fully realized. in the corner of johannesburg the tv barely brings in the celebration. here like everywhere else they mourn a man declared a saint. for years she struggled working for white families. she would not misshere they toa.

>> we have because of him. >> reporter: but mandela did not only promise racial equality. he promised economic equality. >> reporter: that vision still has not been realized across the country. whites make six times the amount that blacks do, and here most of the homes are no bigger than shacks. this is where freddy lives, behind his own bar. >> i cover with that. >> been here 12 years. and you sleep on the floor and you have no bathroom. >> for sure. >> why do you stay? >> scratch beneath the surface and most say they worry too much

for their daily lives than to attend the memorial service. >> we have no hope.

>> program to get back to work on a cure. so much more. because of this deal the budget process can now stop lurching from crisis to crisis. by spending bipartisan spending levels for the next two years this deal allows congressional committees to proceed under regular order and give government agencies and the companies that do business with them the certainty they need to hire workers and make investments. this isn't the plan i would have written on my own. i'm' sure that chairman ryan

would not have written it on his own, i was disappointed that we weren't able to close a single corporate tax loopholes. i know republicans hoped this would be the opportunity to make changes to medicare and social security that they have advocated for. but we have set aside our differences and worked together and compromised to get something done. this deal does not solve every issue in front of congress. we've made the issue in the few short weeks we've had to focus on where we can agree and not get bogged down in issues that are not going to get solved now. but we need to acknowledge that our nation has serious fiscal and long-term economic challenges that this deal does not address. many people feel that congress is broken. we've spent years scrambling to fix artificial crie crisis whilr

debt piles and ou we have defict in education, innovation and infrastructure that continue to widen. we know we need comprehensive tax reform. we need comprehensive immigration reform. there is a lot more that congress needs to do. this deal does not solve all of our problems, but it is an important step in helping to heal some of the wounds here in congress. to rebuild trust and show that we can do something without a crisis right around the corner. and demonstrate the valley and making our government work for the people we represent. when all this is done i am very proud to stand with chairman ryan or anyone else who wants to work on this bipartisan foundation to continue addressing the nation's challenge. nothing is easy but i know the american people expect nothing less. i want to take a minute to thank chairman ryan. he and i do have major

differences. we cheer for a different football team, clearly. we catch different fish. we have some differences on policies. but we agree that our country needs some certainty and they need to show that they can work together, and i've been very proud to work with him. i want to thank congressman van holland who has worked very hard to make sure that this deal reflects the values that he cares about and all of our conference budget committee, they have been very hard working with us to get to this deal. i'm hopeful that we can get this bipartisan deal through the house and then through the senate, and get home in time for the holidays that i think everybody deserves this year. >> so you're going to go before the house republicans and pitch this. i talked to a couple of senior republicans, they felt that they would loss a healthy chunk, but what do you say to folks who are

realizing this is not one of your budgets that has unanimous support, agreement and compromise, and there are going to be conservatives that says no, this is not for yes. >> as a conservative i think this is a step in the right direction. i'm getting more deficit reduction. so the deficit will go down more by passing this than if we did nothing. that's point number one. point number two, there are no tax increases here. point number three, we're finally starting to deal with auto pilot spending. that mandatory spending that has not been addressed by congress for years. this isn't easy. this is the first divided government budget agreement since 1986. the reason why we haven't done a budget agreement when both houses were controlled by other parties since 1986 is because it's not easy to do. we're not going to get everything that we want and she's not going to get everything that she wants. >> what if they reject it. >> i think we'll pass there though the house.

we'll go first given our schedules. we'll post this on our website this evening and we intend to bring it to the house floor later this week. i have every reason to expect great support from our caucus. we're keeping our key principles. no one here had to sacrifice their core principles. our principles are don't raise taxes, reduce the deficit. we also have a lot of concerned members about defense. the next hit was going to hit solely on the military starting in january. a lot of our members were concerned about that. so what we're doing here is providing for some is he sequesn relief, and we're paying for that with permanent reforms on the auto pilot spendin spend re. >> how much does this represent an agreement between the two of

you versus the agreement you know can get between both claimers. >> well, i can tell you that i've been in close contact with my leadership and a number of members since we've worked through this issue. i expect chairman ryan and my job will be the same, which is to talk to everybody about our deal and to work to get the vote. i'm confident that we won't have 100% of the senate or 100% of the house. this is a bipartisan deal. we most had to move to get to where we are today. i think what the american people ought to know is that this congress can work. people can come up together from very different corners and find common ground and bring some certain back to our jobs and our economy. that is what we've continually focused on. >> let's dive in here for a second. we'll get to libby casey and then david schuster who is

sitting in for ali velshi. libby, you've been listening to this news conference being held by congress ryan and senator patty murray. first of all i want to ask you just a moment ago we heard from congressman ryan that what this deal does is that it reduces the deficit without raising taxes. is that your understanding of the deal that's being proposed that will go up on the website congressional website later. >> reporter: them key to getting any republican support. even when a reporter asked you as a conservative, how do you support this? why do you support it? those were the two things that he said made it a deal he can stand behind. it does draw the numbers down. however, we have to really look and read and find out exactly what the negotiators landed on in terms of how they're going to raise money. user fees, a different term than taxes, and for airline travel targeting specific groups. they were bragging about that. they were focusing on the good

things in their eyes. they're talking about how it's going to bring down spending. patty murray talked about how it's going to take care some of these sequestration cuts that are hitting things like n.i.h. research, health research, she called it vital, repeatedly something that could not stand any more cuts. talking about head start programs, education programs and then the military which both paul ryan and mattie murray paty touched on. >> those are those fees, and some will consider fees taxes. it's just the simple truth of it. libby casey, thank you. we'll get to david shuster filling in for ali velshi. he's leading our coverage, ali of nelson mandela's memorial in south africa. david filling in tonight. i want to you piggyback on what we're talking about, the kind of

details we're starts to get more to come on this proposed deal. i'm wondering if you had a chance to tal talk about whether this is a good deal to be viewed in the markets tomorrow. >> reporter: if congress could not meet a deal, or suppose this doesn't pass, and there is another government shutdown. that is the sort of thing that causes market legitimators and the stocks to drop, , i think stocks will stay the same. simply because the economy is getting stronger there are more tax receipts flowing into the federal government. that's why the annual budget deficit the fiscal year that just ended was 39% less than that same deficit as a percentage of gdp a year ago. to its extent that congress gets out of the way and reassures the

economists that things are moving strongly, that will help the market. >> david, appreciate it. see you at the top of the hour on real money and more development out of washington as we get them. and trouble in tinseltown as seismic concerns hold up construction in hollywood. tñ

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. here i are the top stories. thousands paying tribute to nelson mandela. the controller rul volcker n the books. and the move comes nor than five years after the start of the financial crisis. and a budget deal that would avoid another government shutdown has been reached. u.s. congress budget negotiators reached a two-year agreement that would reduce automatic spending cuts by $63 billion

over two years provide additional $23 billion in deficit reduction over 10 years. many lawmakers are skeptical whether iran will live up to the terms of the deal. some members of congress are pushing for new sanctions against iran. kerry urged them to hold off saying the u.s. needs some time to work towards a final agreement. >> once implemented, and it will be in the next weeks, this amendment halts the progress of iran's nuclear program. it rolls it back to certain places for the first time in ten years. it's provides unprecedented monitoring and protections. while we negotiate, we'll see if we can conclude a comprehensive

agreement. >> from washington, d.c. the foreign policy project director at the bipartisan center. welcome. i'm wondering why so much conversation about new sanctions even today's hearings. is this principally for show or to send a message of toughness to tehran, or do members of congress really want to do something here? >> i think its more than a symbolic discussion. i think they do want to do something. they have seen sanctions did get tougher and they want to make sure that they deep negotiating and get a final deal. they feel that it's going to be sanctions that get us there. >> a final agreement based on what you just said about what congress may feel about the

effect of sanctions. the final agreement would mean what, no enrichment for iran? >> that's another matter for discussion between congress on one hand and administration on the other. congress at the very least wants to see iran comply with security council resolution which require iran to suspend for quite some time it's enrichment program. the administration on the other hand signed an interim deal stipulated whatever the final agreement is it will clue the ability for iran to keep on enriching. that's another major bone of contention. >> is this really out of the u.n.'s hands? this is an agreement of the p5+1 at this point. yes, you may want iran to live up to those resolutions, but at this point it feels like--i may be wrong, but it feels like it supersedes those resolutions of the united nations.

>> the united nations is out of it, other countries that might want to create their nuclear programs, if iran gets to get away with this in the united nations resolutions, why wouldn't they, so it's a matter of precedence for the future. >> israel prime minister benjamin netanyahu made be forced to give up its nuclear program. do you believe that? >> well, it's where it's gotten us today. a combination of e.u. sanctions and there's, we know that the only time iran actually agreed to stop was in 2002 when they

invaded iraq. so there is something to prime minister netanyahu's logic. >> the idea that you could strike a deal that would force a nation's pursuit of science. >> the iranians know how to build a nuclear weapon or program, and we're not going to take that knowledge away from them. >> blaze, thank you. blaze nistal the policy director, i was moving you on to another job. thank you. >> thanks, tony. >> it has been named one of the most important industrial companies, general motors have churned out a classic line of cars over the years, like this,

the 1958 core vet, and the 1968 pontiac gto, another set of treasured wheels, oh my. and now there is a new boss taking over at gm raising all kinds of questions about what kind of legacy this person will leave. we'll fill in that picture in just a second more. we'll go to john terrett. >> wonderful. >> you've been taking a look at this appointment and how significant it is. the big reveal. >> the great opportunity for me, the big reveal, and it is. 51-year-old mary bara and she's lifelong g.m. staffer. she has been there since 18 years old, and this is huge. the glass ceiling has been completely smashed. there has never been in the world, never mind the big three,

there has never been a female ceo of an automaker. and people might be looking at why, john and tony, talking about the appointment of a woman in 2013, it's not an unusual. well, it is because it has never happened before. it's unusual also because it's not common, put it that way, for the very, very top jobs to go to an insider, normally the board doesn't want to have to employ the top person and then backfill down the line. but in this case they have because mary bara. >> what will her responsibilit responsibilities be? >> let's look at what she has done in the past. i made a note. she has been in charge of global design. she has been very high up in the company. we know that she thrived during the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009, and she was very good with the cost cutting, trimming and managing of budgets. she has 33 years experience. she has been with the company

since she's 18 years old. now the buck stops with her. she has not yet taken the job. we don't know what she's really going to do. but if she does this job, just five years. if she were to do it for five years she would effectively be in charge of any new products that g.m comes out. you create a pipeline. her legacy, she has the chance to have a legacy that goes out 20 years from here and possibly for a hundred years. i think it's worth making a point that gm is more than a hundred years old. she's the first woman to lead the company, and her dad spent 39 years on the floor at possibleback. pontiac. >> what a story. >> what a wonderful completing of the circle. >> and the best of luck, john

terrett with us. now the name nelson mandela has beency must. we go to today's lesson plan. >> reporter: half a world away nelson mandela's memorial service was just wrapping up as classes were getting under way at margaret smith's elementary school in denver. this morning they're starting aer an eight-week segment. >> mandela may be new to these children but after a little history and group discussion

they had mandela all figured out. >> what he did was awesome. >> reporter: margaret smith school is a melting pot. most students are black or latino. most of these student versus an undocumented parent, and most qualify for reduced lunches. >> it may be being homeless and living in a homeless shelter down the road. >> reporter: the children are quick to connect mandela to american civil rights heroes. >> i learned that he was like martin luther king. >> bringing their personal experiences to the classroom. >> one time i walked in a store and i see people treated me

differently because i'm mexican. they are aware and they see it. >> it's pretty cool because of what he did. he didn't do anything to stop segregation, then it would get worse and worse. >> he fought for people's rights. >> they love having people to look up to. >> mandela's life striking a chord in these young mines after just one morning. after that tricky ne nouveau n vocabulary. >> partite. >> apartheid. >> yes. >> the los angeles skyline could be changing. two towers are planned to rise above the city's dwarfing the

capital records buildings. but beneath the surface of the earth, jennifer london joins me with more. >> reporter: two words: earth quake. the capital records building say they're plan to go build the tours on an active "fault line." this after a state leading geologist said that l.a. is overdue for an earthquake. >> reporter: imagine hollywood before it was all of this. when it was citrus groves for as far as the eye could see. now the capital records building. now imagine two sky scrapers eclipsing the view from above and oversad blowing possible dangers beneath. these are artist renderings of the proposed towers of

apartments, hotel rooms. restaurant and shots. los angeles city council approved the project this year. >> what they have planned is highrise development and obstruction of neighborhoods. >> reporter: so suing the city and the developer, millennium hollywood. he's joined by a coalition of homeowners and business who is claim they withheld critical information and evidence that suggests it might not be safe to build there. >> this is a site that cannot be built upon much less with two skyscrapers. >> reporter: before we understand and appreciate the controversy surrounding the building of the millennium towers, we have got to get off the ground. from up here you get the best views of the proposed site of the two towers is right there. and at 35 and 39 stories tall it will dwarf the tapcal records.

but it's what is happening beneath the surface of the street that is causing the most concern. >> the fault and the millennium project site is at this location here. >> reporter: john parish is the state's leading geeing. >> we're talking about surface rupture. and surface rupture tends to destroy the foundation of the city. >> reporter: the city insists the project is safe, and they say they stand on solid ground. literally and figuratively. >> where do we stop? if we base everything on what might be, and we some economic development, then we're in trouble as a city. i think everyone should take a deep breath, let's the science come in and the facts come in before we jump to conclusions. >> no development can happen on top of an earthquake fault. that's not us talking, but that's state law and mother motr

nature talking. >> reporter: the fight moves off the streets and into the courts leaving the future of hollywood's most ambitious project very much up in the air. the developer says they have gone above and beyond all legal requirements regards to seismic studies but say they're willing to consider further ground testing and they say they are confident the l.a. superior court system will uphold the city's approval of the project. >> jennifer london in los angeles for us. ahead on al jazeera america an explosion of this salty fish is causing a rumble in parts of the pacific ocean and quite a sight for human spectators. this is the 900-page document we call obamacare. it could change costs, coverage, and pretty much all of healthcare in america. my show sorts this all out. in fact, my staff has

read the entire thing. which is probably more than what most members of congress can claim. we'll separate politics from policy, and just prescribe the facts.

>> humpback whales were once on the verge of extinction but an unusually influx of flood has drawn hundreds of them off the coast of california. >> it's been a fantastic season for whale watchers in monterrey, california. an unusual explosion of anchovies has taken over the bay here. >> well, this year we're seeing anchovies in numbers that we really haven't seen any time in the recent past say 10, 20 years. and that increased food supply has created an unprecedented buffet for humpback whales who eat two tons of anchovies a day. it's attracting not just birds and sea lions but killer whales

that are after the sea lions, and dolphins. it's like a wwt brawl here. >> reporter: meeting up to hunt together. the sea lyons heard the anchovies into a tight group, giving the whales the target and then the sea lyons pick off the anchovies that are stunned off the whale's monstrous bodies. >> reporter: we're so close to them that we can smell their breath when they breathe through the blow holes. they're beautiful but they don't smell good. >> i've been here for 25 years as a fisherman, sailor and surfer. 25 years ago here in the monterrey bay it would have been unusual to see any humpback whales. >> reporter: the worldwide moratorium on whaling seems to bring the population back. at best whale watchers hope for 20 whales in monterrey bay. this year there are at least

200. scientists can't explain it. anchovies may be thriving because giant squid, a natural anchovy predator, ma has not ben seen recently. but it b could be that climb cle change is at work here. >> it's a huge boon to the local economy, raised the profile of marine research and ocean awareness. that's a good thing. but will this be a harbinger of worse things to come? that's very much in question. >> for mike sack and his crew the business is good news. but even after so many years on the water he isn't immune to the simple joy of seeing these whales up close. >> it's neat to be out here with the two of you who see these

things every day and you're still saying, wow. >> you bet. we live for this. i love it when i see any kind of whale, humpback whale, it's amazing. >> reporter: at a time when the ocean is full of bad news in this one place it has been a very happy summer. >> that's cool. come on, ross, that's cool. to give you an idea of how much things have changed. sea lyons were washing ashore in southern california because of starvation. the influx of an chos anchovyiee change the all of that. we'll take a look at these whales on america tonight, how cool. >> the heat, the pacers, must-see tv. can we say more.

>> reporter: the pacers are circled on the calenders. tonight the pacers and heat will renew their rivalry in indianapolis. that's where we are live in this must-see match up. john? >> reporter: ross, i got reinforcement. we've got more basketball than most of us will ever know. mark, we were shooting around this morning. do the pacers care more about winning this game tonight than the heat do? >> the pacers because they're bitter. they went home early. they were knocked out of finals, and they were just that close to kiss the ring. they got sent home and see miami celebrate and parade. and oddly paul george lamented by vacationing in miami, but yes, they want a big win to

soothe it a little bit. >> is the anger all one sided? i hear rumblings from the people who cover the heat that the heat are not in love with players in the payer side, there is real hate here. >> there better be. they can really mess it up for them. when they dislike there, yeah, i think there is dislike but they've got the bravado. they got their chests out. it's still their game. but that's where the home court advantage is important, this game is important because miami used game seven to advance to the championship. they don't get one tonight, i mean, they don't get one in the end, that game seven here in indianapolis could be a problem. >> the pacers, they said that their mantra is to get that top seat in the east. they think that could make a difference if there is another game seven this year, do you

agree? >> it does. this place is rocking, and they need it from a confidence stand point. they haven't done it yet. they need the extra ump. i think with wade having his injury issues, and miami being older, i don't know if they want to fight as hard to get that top seed as indiana is willing to do. >> you talked about d-wade. d-wade didn't go to shoot around today but we did see him shooting. >> i didn't want to go to the shoot around, either. we were there doing our jobs. >> exactly. but d wade, what is going on with him? is he really not healthy? >> he's old. he's got those knees. he's got those knees. and he's being judicious as to whether to use them or not. outside of the pacers e the rest of the east is so bad they probably could play 75% of the way

the anger all one sided? i hear rumblings from the people who cover the heat that the heat are not in love with players in the payer side, there is real hate here. >> there better be. they can really mess it up for them. when they dislike there, yeah, i think there is dislike but they've got the bravado. they got their chests out. it's still their game. but that's

>> meteorologist: well, the system we had moving across the east coast moved so quickly we did not get the accumulations that we probably should have. 24 hours ago to now, now it is out in the atlantic. so that's where it is, 24 hours of prescription. precipitation. if it would have gone slower we would yowould have had more ac accumulation. we saw an inch and a half in the central park. and we saw more snow anywhere from two to three inches. a lot of people are concerned about the highways. they treated the highways really well before the snow came. this temperature that you see

here is optimum for any snow to melt on the ground even though it's close to freezing, the chemicals at this temperature work really well. we don't expect to see much. tomorrow is going to be cooler with the air mass coming in. still not too bad. we could expect to see snow that lake affect snow is coming in to play. you can see those darker blues just to the east of lake ontario as well as lake heary. that's going to be the big problem in these areas believe it or not we could be seeing 12 to 14 to 167 inches of snow. that's a former situation where we have a lake affect scenario there. new york, this is what you look like tomorrow, 30 degrees, getting cooler on thursday at 26. coming back with more rain and snow. that's a look at your national weather. have a great evening.

>> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. a look at today's top stories. congress has reached a budget deal, lawmakers within the hour. they have agreed to a two-year agreement which would avoid a government shutdown this month. and tens of thousands of people brave the rain storms to pay tribute to nelson mandela. president obama spoke at the memorial. john pedesto will become counselocounselor to the